Southern California -- this just in

Man arrested in Dodger Stadium stabbing

May 4, 2009 | 11:14
am

Authorities have arrested a man in connection with a stabbing last month in the Dodger Stadium parking lot after the club's home opener, Los Angeles police said today.

Arthur Alvarez, 32, was arrested Thursday night at a relative's home in Santa Clarita, said LAPD Capt. Bill Murphy. Alvarez, a reputed gang member, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder. He was being held in lieu of $550,000 bail and was expected to be charged today.

Alvarez, who is unemployed, had attended the Dodgers' home opener against the San Francisco Giants with a couple and another man, police said. Investigators said Alvarez and the other man began quarreling, and Alvarez stabbed the 30-year-old victim several times in the arm. Alvarez then fled in a black Ford pickup.

At about the same time, police received a report of a man with a gun in another parking lot at the stadium. Rayner said police later determined the man had been vandalizing cars and was unarmed. He fled before officers arrived.

Those incidents and other reports of rowdy behavior led Dodgers officials last week to step up patrols in the parking lots surrounding the stadium and to enforce rules that prohibit alcohol consumption in those areas.

The stadium has been the scene of violent incidents in recent years that critics have blamed on lax security.

In 2003, Marc Antenorcruz, of West Covina, was walking out of the stadium after a game when he got into an argument with a group of men that included Pete Marron. Marron was later convicted of shooting Antenorcruz to death.

Fan misbehavior stemming from a club promotion early in the 2005 season led the Dodgers to hire uniformed Los Angeles Police Department officers to patrol the stands.

Later that year, a clash between private security guards and unlicensed vendors working near the stadium turned into a violent brawl after a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, leaving several men hospitalized with stab wounds.